AFP - A complex, against-all-odds rescue of 33 miners trapped in Chile for more than two months transfixed this nation and the world Wednesday, with wild celebrations breaking out at its successful completion.

The ascent of the last of the miners, grizzled leader Luis Urzua, capped nearly 22 hours of euphoric scenes happening every 30 minutes or so, when each of the trapped men was winched individually to the surface through a narrow escape shaft.